John wrote:
> The assignment, x=N[Total[-2Log[((n)(pdpd)/v[I])^v[i]]],10], executes
> for i=1,2,..,10, and I can make a list of the 10 outcomes by repeating
> the assignment 10 times.
>
> I thought that the assignment, x[i_]:=N{Total[-2Log[((n)(pdpd)/
> v[i])^v[i]]],10], would make a list of the 10 outcomes, without the
> necessity of manual repetitions, but Mathematica rejected it.
>
> The error message tells me that my assignment won't execute because
> times is protected.
>
You have to clear x, Clear[x], before you can assign to x[i_].
E.g.\ if you do
x = 2a
and then try
x[n_] = n^2
then Mathematica will interpret the second definition as (2a)[n_] = n^2, i.e.\
Times[2, a][n_] = n^2
To make a table with different values of a parameter, use Table.
For example, Table[n^2, {n, 1, 10}] produces a table of squares.
--
Szabolcs